Off with Their Heads!
Recent royal crises reveal echoes of discontent in 1870s Britain, when disquiet with monarchy manifested in calls for its abolition.
Behind the Times
What We Talk About When We Talk About Tunguska
Was it antimatter? Aliens? An atomic blast? On the 115th anniversary of the Tunguska event, the weird and wonderful theories as to the explosion’s cause show no sign of drying up. Why?
A Secret History of Mongolian Wolves
Mongolians have always lived with wolves. During the imperial era, the relationship was an ambiguous one. Under socialism, it became existential.
Don’t Look Up
Hawai‘i’s Mauna Kea is among the best places in the world to study the universe, but the construction of a new super telescope is about more than astronomy.
Armenia’s Eleventh Century
Where relations between Armenia and Turkey are concerned, the 11th century never ended.
Ghosts of Java
Indonesia’s bloody past has produced a country populated with ghosts. Now, they are sharing their stories on YouTube.
Decline and Fall
Vladimir Putin has decried the ‘decadent West’ as destined to fail as a result of its degeneracy. Fears of decadence are not new.
Chaucer on Trial
Geoffrey Chaucer may have been accused of rape 600 years ago. Do newly discovered documents exonerate him?
Sign of the Times
Speech, rather than hearing, has been at the heart of the long history of deaf exclusion.
Demanding Surrender
The exchange of wanted persons between the UK and the US is a contentious issue and has been for more than 200 years.